Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

Sang Ning felt like a beggar guarding a mountain of gold.

Even though there's plenty of corn, they still ask others for some.

"Fine!"

"You slice it, I'll fry it."

Sang Ning wasn't going to give them the sliced ​​pork tenderloin!

She quickly fried another bowl and had Huo Jingya take it away so she could share it.

"Third Sister-in-law has a sensitive stomach, so don't let her eat too much. I'll make her another pancake later," she instructed.

Wolf meat is delicious, but it shouldn't be eaten in excess. Pregnant women should eat everything in moderation.

"Oh, is Third Sister-in-law suffering from acclimatization issues? She seems to be feeling unwell lately."

"Probably," Sang Ning said vaguely.

Li Yuzhi brought over another pile of firewood and set up Du Shan and the others' pot on it.

Du Shan simply gave the large pieces of roasted meat to Hu Si.

Hu Si wasn't particular about the finer things; as long as it was meat, he'd eat it in big bites, not caring that it was too hot, like a starving wild animal.

Sang Ning saw that the center of the meat was not very cooked, and the veins of blood were bright red, and she couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile.

"It's so delicious! I wish I could eat this every day!" Du Shan and Tian Kaiwu exclaimed.

It's a pity this weather can't be held onto, sigh...

They took out the last half-jar of wine.

"Fourth Madam, First Madam, would you like some?"

"No, no, I don't want to drink it, *burp*"

Li Yuzhi let out a burp and quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment.

So full!

So embarrassing.

She was afraid that if she didn't eat, the yamen runners would benefit, so she ate a little too quickly just now.

Sang Ning stared at the wine with a strange look in his eyes.

"Would the Fourth Madam like a drink?"

"No, I can't hold my liquor. One drink and I'm drunk. If I'm drunk, I can sleep for three days straight. How am I supposed to travel then?"

No wonder!

It wasn't a long sleep, it was a three-day riot!

"Hahaha, no, no, I can't drink that." Du Shan dared not delay the trip any further.

Li Yuzhi thought to herself: I need to talk to my fourth brother about this and tell him to be careful.

While they were chatting and laughing, a young man broke off several sharpened tree branches.

Finally, he took the twig and stabbed it into the bowl, as if stabbing it into someone's flesh, and skewered all the meat in the bowl at once, then swallowed it in one gulp.

Fourth Uncle has gone mad again!

Xiao Jintang was dumbfounded. He had let his younger sister eat first, and he hadn't eaten much yet!

Uncle Si ate half a bowl in one bite!

"What are you looking at! You have no sense at all. You'd be eating more by guarding there than here! Are you trying to let those constables get away with this?"

"Get over there now!"

But it was clearly his fourth aunt who told him to come here to eat because she was afraid the yamen runners would rob him. And his fourth uncle said this. Who should he listen to?

I used to think I was pretty smart, but now I feel like my brain isn't up to the task.

The aroma of roasted meat was irresistible, and Jintang's stomach was churning with hunger, but she still went over with her empty bowl.

He quickly returned with the bowl.

The bowl was full of meat, and there was also a piece of radish.

Jintang was overjoyed.

"Fourth Uncle, eat quickly. Fourth Aunt said she'll go get more later, and if we can't finish it, we'll save it for the next meal."

Huo Chang'an's eyes remained somber.

That idiot is back again!

"What are they talking about?"

"When my fourth aunt asked about Liangzhou, the yamen runner said that the prefect of Liangzhou disliked people from the capital."

Jintang was quite clever; after overhearing it, he also became frightened.

The yamen runners said that people from the capital used to be unable to find good jobs, and many didn't survive the winter.

"Fourth Uncle, don't worry, I write well. I can make money by writing and selling my calligraphy and paintings," Xiao Jintang said innocently.

A place where people can't even get food, are you selling it to ghosts?!

Although Huo Chang'an had lived a life of luxury in the past, he was not ignorant of everything. His second brother had also been guarding the city in the west for three years.

When I returned three years later, my skin had been blown into sand.

In the most barren places, even grain cannot be grown.

Liangzhou is located in the far west.

It will only get worse.

He bluntly retorted to Jintang, "Selling flowers in the outhouse, you're truly elegant."

After roasting the meat, Sang Ning steamed a few cakes with cornmeal mixed with wild vegetables, and used some of the cornmeal to make a bowl of corn porridge for the old lady.

That little bit of cornmeal was all used up.

At that time, the milling technology was not good, and the cornmeal still had the seed coat on it, which was really coarse and scratchy to the throat.

But it's still better than those dark cornbreads mixed with peanut shells and rice bran.

The pancakes are enough for Xie Yurou and the children to eat for two days; she'll figure out what to do next.

Xie Yurou held the golden, fragrant cakes, feeling incredibly grateful.

She remembers clearly what she had eaten before.

In prison, they ate half-spoiled cold rice. On the way to exile, they relied on the black cornbread distributed by the yamen runners. After a few bites, their teeth would ache from the exhaustion.

I can hardly imagine how I survived those days in a daze.

She silently thought to herself that no matter whether Sang Ning'er became the fourth wife of the Huo family in the future, she would still consider her family.

Sang Ning'er was the second mother of the child in her womb.

Du Shan went out to scout and came back saying he hadn't seen any bandits.

"They've probably left. We're not some easy prey, there's no need to keep harping on it."

Sang Ning was not at ease.

After all, they are women, and they have other values ​​as well.

"Lord Du, if we cross this mountain, will we be able to reach Liangzhou?"

Du Shan seemed to have heard some kind of fantastical tale.

"Are you kidding me? Who would dare go into these mountains? It's a dead end!"

"In this world, how much better can things be if you go out? If you run into another band of bandits, it's a dead end. You can't always be this lucky."

"Moreover, at least there is plenty of food to be found in the mountains."

"No, no, no..." Du Shan waved his hands repeatedly.

Tian Kaiwu is the same.

Li Yuzhi and Huo Jingya also stared at Sang Ning in astonishment, as if she were talking nonsense.

Everyone knows that there are many wild animals in the mountains.

Aren't these two wolves a perfect example?

Of those hunters who spend their lives in the mountains and forests, how many live to old age? In the end, they all perish in the bellies of wild animals.

In the past, there were also mountain people who supplied animal hides to the Marquis's residence, but they would usually disappear after two years. When asked, they would either say that they went into the mountains and never came back, or that they had been maimed by animals.

If even strong and skilled hunters are like this, aren't these weak women just asking to be prey for wild beasts when they go into the mountains?

Upon seeing their expressions, Sang Ning understood.

Du Shan shook his head, feeling that women are ultimately women, and they still lack experience.

“Some villages near the mountains are attacked by wild animals several times a year. How can people dare to compete with wild animals for territory? Otherwise, everyone would have moved into the mountains, and there would be no need for the whole family to flee the famine.”

Okay, she was naive.

There were plenty of wild animals at that time; it wasn't an era when they were on the verge of extinction.

Du Shan continued, "Even if we encounter bandits, there's still a glimmer of hope. But if we encounter wild beasts, we'll surely be reduced to ashes."

"Ha!" Huo Chang'an let out a cold laugh.

"Bandits, a glimmer of hope? Officer Du isn't some novice who's only been on the job for a year or two. Even I, a young master from a wealthy family, know that human evil is more ferocious than a tiger."

Du Shan and Tian Kaiwu's expressions changed.

“They committed all sorts of evil deeds, including rape, plunder, and kidnapping. Old, thin men were called ‘Rao Ba Huo’ (meaning ‘to scare away the fire’), women and children were called ‘Bu Xian Yang’ (meaning ‘not envious of sheep’), and little children were called ‘He Gu Lan’ (meaning ‘to rotten bones’).

"If you fall into the jaws of a wild beast, you may die a short but painful death. But if you fall into the hands of bandits... guess what will happen? They will indulge in unrestrained fun and suffer endless humiliation. Afterward, they will be sliced ​​up, steamed, and their bones crushed with boulders, and then they will feast on them with great relish."

"Which is more terrifying, humans or wild beasts?"